Alchemy and Love
by bad-luck-love
Summary: Written after i saw episode 28, but timewise, beyond the foreseeable future... developing EdWinly, working on character development in general... should eventually be a prequel and multiple chapters...RR please! thanks


Edward Elrich leaned his hot forehead against his younger brother's armored shoulder, and groaned miserably, though the cool metal felt refreshing against his hot skin.  "Oniisan, daijyobu?"  Al asked quietly.  His voice echoed strangely within the empty armor suit that now composed his body.

"Un..." Ed trailed off in the affirmative, but wished now that they had waited a few days before returning to Rizenbul.  Their last assignment had worn both of them to a thread after a few months in cold, blizzard-like weather, and, surprisingly, Colonel Roy Mustang had offered them an entire month off to recuperate.  The Elrich brothers had jumped at the opportunity to return to their hometown, and decided to leave immediately in spite of the bad head cold Edward had contracted a few days before they finished their assignment.  "How much longer until we get there?" He asked, turning his head to look out the window.

The train whistled and protested noisily against the tracks as it slowed to a halt.  "Just three more stops, so maybe another hour?"  Al suggested, and barely managed to suppress a laugh at his brother's distraught expression.  "It's not so bad, is it?"

Replacing his forehead against the armored shoulder again, he sighed.  "It is when you're body is burning up and you can barely breathe because of the dusty air."

'He's so dramatic,' Al thought, but said instead, "Obaachan and Winly will make you feel better; they always knew what to do when we were kids, remember?"

He thought he saw Ed shudder a little as he mentioned Winly's name.  'I remember they argued last time we were home, but he writes her at least once a week.  They must have made up by now.'

Ed's face quickly returned to his normal conversational expression.  "Yeah, I remember.  Obaachan knows even more than Mother did about medicine."  The mention of their mother brought them both momentarily into a sort of revered silence.

Al sighed and turned his gaze toward the window.  "I miss her, still."

"So do I.  I think we always will, Al."  His voice sounded thick and clouded with remorse, and he shut his eyes.  "Mind if I catch a nap?"

"Go ahead; I'll wake you a few minutes before we get to the station so you can wipe the drool off of your face," he joked lightly.  "And off of my armor."

"Sure, Al," Ed replied automatically, but the younger brother knew he wasn't listening, and simply sat back and watched the hills and mountains pass by as they approached their destination.

Far from asleep, Ed greatly appreciated the verbal code he and Al had established over the years of traveling together, so he rarely felt guilty about telling his brother he was "napping" when he really just needed some time to think.  As the train quickly approached their small hometown, he had a few things to mull over in his mind before he met his adopted grandmother and Winly.

'Especially Winly,' he thought regrettably.  'Was it really only a year ago that I said those things about our 'responsibilities', about the fact that we are 'not children anymore'?  Honestly, Edward.'  He kicked himself mentally.  'I wish I had known then just how much I owed her, and still owe her.  So much for equivalent trade; she designed and created my automail all on her own, and refused the money I tried to give her.  Not to mention she's supportive and caring.'  The memory of the last night he'd seen her flashed through his mind.  

They had been spending the night under the stars outside, something they hadn't done since they were kids, but greatly enjoyed, and he'd had a nightmare.  Not an especially uncommon occurrence, but disturbing nonetheless, and he would have had a rough time falling asleep again if she hadn't given him that massage, just like his mother used to.  'Then I threw it all back in her face when she asked me to stay... and when I woke up, she was gone.'

He had written her more often than usual over the past year, partially because he felt indebted to her, but mostly because he truly missed her.  She had written back as well, and he felt a little bit better, but... 'I have to ask for a new automail again.  Maybe when I get some time, I'll figure out a way to stretch it to my height without ruining the joints, but I'll probably stop growing before that time ever comes around.  Not to mention it would put them out of a business.'

He warmed inwardly as he thought of Winly leaning over her worktable and completely entranced by the myriad metal tools and pieces strewn across the top of it.  'I suppose for her, building automail equates to performing transmutations for me.  Seems like we've both been bitten by the science bug...'

What seemed like only a few moments later, Ed felt Al shaking his shoulder lightly with his over-sized hands, and he dragged his eyelids open, blinking at the bright, blurry forms in front of him until they solidified into comprehensible shapes.  "Oniisan, okite!  We're almost there!" Al's voice echoed enthusiastically from within the armor.

Ed rubbed his eyes with his human hand, trying to urge his tired mind into complete consciousness.  He didn't remember falling asleep, but then, he had been fairly weary when they left yesterday morning, and hadn't slept well in the moving train last night.

As the train pulled up to the station, the Elrich brothers eagerly searched the platform for Winly and her grandmother.  Spotting them, Al waved happily, "Obaachan!  Winly!"

Ed met Winly's eyes briefly, and gave a half-hearted smile and wave before reaching for the luggage beneath the seat and dragging the black travel bag into view.

"Here," Al offered his hand.  "You're tired, and it's no trouble for me.  Let me take it."

Shrugging in agreement, Ed led the way off of the train and onto the platform where a few people waited patiently for friends and loved ones.  Al matched his pace as he walked, almost reluctantly, toward their friends, and leaned over near Ed's ear.  "Oniisan, don't worry.  I'm sure she forgives you," he encouraged, and smiled inwardly as Ed sped up a little.

Winly didn't run toward them as she had in the past, but simply waited, which set Ed on edge.  Was something wrong, or different this time?  She hadn't changed much; same long blonde hair, too-short shirt and grease-stained baggy pants.  Her silence sat like a dead weight in his stomach, and he suddenly felt far more nervous than he had on even the roughest assignments Central had thrown at him.  He almost wished they had stayed in the city.

But as he and Al drew closer, he couldn't help but smile back at Winly when she waved, and he pulled her tightly into his arms as soon as she came within reach.  A bit of pride swelled in his chest when he found he had actually grown a few inches taller than her over the past year, but he quickly extinguished it.  His face half buried in her hair, he lowered his voice and said quietly, "We need to talk."

"I know," she replied, voice barely audible above Al and their grandmother's chatter.  "I missed you."

Ed smiled and pulled away.  "I missed you, too."  He had only a moment to wonder at her watery, tear-glazed eyes before her grandmother interrupted them.

"Edward Elrich!  Where is your sense of respect?" she scolded, waving a single accusatory finger in his direction.  "Don't I get a proper greeting?"

"Hai," Ed responded formally, bowing low.  "Sumimasen, Obaachan."  As her laugher filled his ears, he rose back to a standing position, a confused expression on his face.

"Oh, enough of that formality.  What are they teaching you in this military institution?"  An uncharacteristic hug incongruously accompanied her harsh words.  "It's been lonely without the two of you troublemakers around."

Ed smiled in spite of the teasing, and coughed a few times.  Darting a worried look at his brother, Al suggested, "Maybe we should get home; we've been traveling for quite a while, and I think Ed's a little tired."

"I'm fine!" Ed protested rather irritably, but couldn't quite keep himself from sniffling.

Winly laughed light-heartedly.  "I think you're right, Al, he's always grouchy when he's tired," she teased, and raised her eyebrow knowingly at Ed as he vehemently began to argue with her statement.

"Enough banter, children," Winly's grandmother said.  "Let's go."

It only took about ten minutes to walk from the train station to the automail shop and house that Winly and her grandmother shared, but by the time they reached it, sleep was the only thought in Ed's mind.  Winly must have noticed his exhaustion as well, because she led him straight into her own bedroom.  "You may as well rest in here; your bedroll is still packed, and you shouldn't sleep on the floor if you're not feeling well." Winly merely crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, and he closed his mouth with a snap to prevent the oncoming protest.  "It's really no trouble, but I need to go help Obaachan with supper.  Do you want me to wake you?"

She tugged lightly on the collar of Ed's coat, encouraging him to undress, and he grunted an affirmative.  Forcing herself not to examine her most successful automail yet, currently attached to Ed's torso but usually hidden by his coat and gloves, she turned to leave, and stopped just outside the door as Ed removed his shoes.  "Sleep well," she said as she closed the door softly behind her.

Cooking became much less of a chore with Al to help with the heavy work, like pulling logs in for the fire, and moving large kettles full of boiling water.  Obaachan certainly wasn't getting any younger, though she would never admit it, so Winly had taken over many of the cooking and cleaning jobs.  Al imagined that soon enough, Winly would be able to run this place on her own.

She pulled up a chair across from Al, and settled herself at the table, resting her elbows on the smooth wood.  "So how have the two of you been?" she asked, neutrally making conversation.

"Fine, I suppose," Al responded.  "Our last assignment was difficult, to say the least, but Ed lives for challenge."

Winly smirked at that statement.  "Only too true.  What about you?"

"I like alchemy, but I think Ed has more passion and talent for it than I do."  He shrugged.  "Between the two of us, we accomplish a lot, because we balance each other out.  He's much better with technical side of transmutations, the science behind it and the like, but I think I work better with the ethical, personal side, like whether or not we should use what we have found, and how it impacts other people."

"I see what you mean," she agreed, glancing back at her room and briefly hoping Ed was resting comfortably.  "You both drive yourselves so hard."

Al shrugged again.  "We don't do it because we have to; we do it because we want to.  I'm just lucky I'm not flesh and blood," he gestured toward his empty armor, "Otherwise, you would have two very worn out guests."

Winly sighed, and rested her chin on the palm of one hand.  "Is he taking care of himself?"

"Sure, I help him oil the joints about every other week, and he tries not to transmute his arm if he can help it..."

Shaking her head, Winly cut him off.  "Never mind the automail," –Did I just say that?'- "I mean, is he staying relatively safe?"  After pausing for a moment, she added, "Are you?"

The sound of a pot boiling over interrupted their conversation, and Winly quickly banked the fire while Al lifted the pot and set it on the countertop to cool.  "Hey, Al, do you mind setting the table?  The stew's ready."

"Sure," the suit of armor replied as she walked back to her room to wake Ed for supper.  Opening the door as quietly as she could, and mentally chiding herself for not oiling the hinges last week, she crept inside.

Ed's coat hung crookedly on the back of a chair, and his shiny black boots rested at the foot of the bed.  He had tossed his over-shirt onto the bedpost, as well as his watch and chain.

Winly watched silently for a moment as Ed shifted a bit in his sleep and pulled the comforter more tightly around his body, and frowned slightly.  'I hope his fever's not too bad,' she thought, and sat on the edge of the bed.  She gently tucked his long, sweat-damp bangs behind his ears, and stroked his hair as she always did to wake him.  "Edward..."

He opened his eyes about halfway, and blinked a few times, but didn't move from the bed.  Winly continued running her hand over his hair.  "How are you feeling?"

Sniffling, he glanced up to meet her eyes.  "Okay," he replied, though his voice was gluey and thick with congestion.

Winly continued running her hand over his hair slowly.  "Uso," she accused, but only half teasingly, noticing that Ed could barely keep his eyes open.  "Why don't you rest some more; I'll save some stew for you so you can have it later, okay?"

"Thanks, Win," he said softly, rolling onto his stomach and yawning hugely.  Winly sat for a few minutes longer as he drifted back to sleep, her hand tracing slow, comforting circles across his back.  Soon, he began to snore contentedly, and she left him in peace.


End file.
